1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a buckle mechanism for use in a 3- or 5-point harness system. In particular, the invention relates to a side-release buckle having two male portions inserted into a female portion, and a central interlocking button mechanism, so that both the locking tabs on the male portions and the central interlocking button mechanism must be depressed to release the male portions.
2. The Prior Art
Many juvenile products, such as strollers and high chairs, utilize 3- or 5-point harness systems to keep the child restrained within the product. In a 3-point system, there are two waist straps and a crotch strap that are all connected via a buckle. In a 5-point system, there are two waist straps, two shoulder straps and a crotch strap. Buckles that are used to connect all of these straps to form the harness typically consist of a female portion and two male portions that snap into the female portion. The crotch strap is connected to the female portion and the waist and shoulder straps (if it is a 5-point harness) are attached to the male portions. The male portions can be released using either a side-release system or a center push button.
Side release buckles that are suitable for use in a 3- or 5-point harness system are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,737 to Anscher et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,192 to Haines et al. Another side release buckle is manufactured by Tifco. A center push buckle that is suitable for use in a 3- or 5-point system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,677 to Anscher. While these buckles adequately connect the various straps of the harness systems and allow the straps to be easily released, they have the disadvantage that the buckles could be inadvertently released.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a buckle that can be used in a 3- or 5-point harness system and which cannot be released unintentionally.
It is another object of the invention to provide a buckle that is durable and easy to operate. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a buckle that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects are accomplished by a buckle mechanism comprising a female portion and at least one male portion adapted to be received within a cavity of the female portion. The male portion has a base, a central leg with a catch and a flexible arm with a locking tab on one end. The locking tab seats in a locking slot of the female portion when the male portion is inserted into the female portion. The base of the male portion is preferably disposed at an angle from the central leg of the male portion. There is a center button mechanism mounted in the female portion and having a center push button, a spring connected to the center push button at one end and/or to a spring base at the other end, and at least one flexible leg connected to the spring base. The flexible leg has a catch that interlocks with the catch on the male portion when the male portion is inserted into the female portion. When the center push button is depressed, the spring compresses and causes the flexible leg to bend and release the catch on the male portion so that the male portion is ejected from the female portion when the locking tab is depressed sufficiently to clear the locking slot in the female portion.
In a preferred embodiment, there are two male portions, two locking slots in the female portion, and two flexible legs on the center button mechanism. Preferably, the center button mechanism is disposed between the two male portions when the male portions are inserted into the female portion.
The center button mechanism preferably has two wings extending from the center push button toward the spring base. Each wing preferably has a tapered inner surface, and depressing the center push button causes ends of the flexible legs to contact and slide along the tapered surfaces and thus be bent to release the catch on the male portions. The spring is preferably a compression spring but other types of springs could also be used.
The female portion preferably has an aperture in its bottom section. The center button mechanism is preferably mounted in the female portion by inserting the center button mechanism up into the female portion through the aperture. The center button mechanism is permanently locked to the female portion via locking legs mounted on the spring base. The locking legs engage a section of the female portion to lock the center button mechanism within the female portion when the center button mechanism is inserted through the aperture. Other types of arrangements for locking the center button mechanism within the female portion could also be used, such as a post and aperture arrangement, or any other suitable arrangement. This is an easy way to mount the center button mechanism within the female portion, if the center button mechanism is formed from one piece as a unitary component. However, the center button mechanism could also be formed as two pieces, with the flexible legs attached to the base and the spring attached only to the base or the center push button. In this arrangement, the center button can be mounted from the top and the spring base could be mounted from the bottom of the female portion. Other mounting arrangements could also be envisioned, depending on the structure of the center button mechanism and the female portion.
There is preferably at least one alignment rib disposed on an inner surface of the female portion. The alignment rib causes the one male portion to be inserted into the female portion in a properly aligned manner. There are preferably four alignment ribs corresponding to each male portion, in an arrangement such that the ribs are located two on one side and two on the opposite side of the female portion and create a guide track for the flexible leg of the male portion. There is preferably a space between the opposing ribs so that the catch on the male portion protrudes between the two ribs to interact with the catch on the center button mechanism when the male portion is inserted in the female portion. When the locking tabs on the male portions are depressed, the leg of the male portion contacts the ribs, and the ribs exert counter pressure against the legs to eject the male portion out of the female portion when the center push button is also depressed. The ribs could also take other arrangements and forms than specifically described here.
There is preferably at least one strap threading bar on the male portion to allow a strap to be threaded through the bar and thus be attached to the male portion. There is also preferably at least one strap threading bar disposed on the female portion to allow a strap to be threaded through the bar and thus be attached to the female portion.
The center button mechanism is preferably integrally molded from one piece, but multi-piece arrangements could also be used. The preferred material for the buckle mechanism according to the invention is a stiff plastic such as Delrin(copyright), but other materials could also be used.
To eject the male portions from the female portion, both the center push button and the locking tabs must be depressed. Depressing the center push button causes the flexible legs on the center button mechanism to bend inward and release the catch that interacts with the catch on the leg of the male portion. Depressing the locking tab on the male portion while the center push button is depressed allows the male portion to be ejected from the female portion. The locking tabs and the center push button can be depressed simultaneously using the fingers of one hand to release the male portions from the female portion. The male portions can be inserted and ejected independently of each other or together.
The present invention provides an added measure of security to harness systems, because two actions must be taken to release the buckle mechanism: the center push button and the locking tabs must be depressed together to eject the male portions from the female portion.